Season 2 continues in our series on the art of running. Today Coaches Joe English and Dean Hebert sit down for a chat with a literary inspired title: great expectations. This is a good one!

On this week’s episode:
— Why do we sometimes have great expectations about a race performance?
— What happens when we set high expectations for ourselves?
— What is the difference between setting goals and attaching values to a particular performance?
— How do high expectations impact performance positively or negatively?
— Does one or two seconds make a difference?

To watch the video, just click the play button in the video window below.

Season 2 will bring you 30 more episodes so stay tuned every Thursday on Vimeo, Facebook and on www.running-advice.com.

To visit our video page with links to all of the episodes in the series, click here.

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Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

“Everything about the Tarahumara seemed backward, taunting, as irritatingly ungraspable as a Zen master’s riddles. The toughest guys were the gentlest; battered legs were the bounciest; the healthiest people had the crappiest diet; the illiterate race was the wisest; the guys working the hardest were having the most fun…”

So begins the exploration of a riddle by author Christopher McDougall in his excellent book Born to Run.

I will say at the outset of this review that I could not, in fact did not, put this book down as I read it cover to cover on an airplane ride recently. I was transfixed with the McDougall’s glorious story telling and hanging in anticipation to see what would come next. After reading a few chapters, I was ready to bestow a title on this book that I have always hoped to bestow: best running book ever. Alas, I can’t quite go that far, for reasons that I will explain, but this book comes close. Born to Run provides an interesting and exciting portrait of a part of the sport of running that most of us don’t even know exists.

Born to Run is part action adventure story and part scientific exploration into the art of running. The backdrop of the story was Christopher McDougall’s investigative reporting into an indigenous culture of the isolated Mexican region known as the Barrancas del Cobre or Copper Canyons. The people, known as the Tarahumara, live in this isolated region with a culture mostly unchanged from their ancestors. They live in caves and small cliff dwellings. They are known for their ability to hide and disappear when approached, giving them an almost ghostlike quality in history. And they are known to run. They have been famed for their ability to run gracefully, effortlessly, and with seemingly unending energy over amazing distances. Running is a part of their culture, it is a means of transportation, and it is also a social outlet and a way of staying healthy.

McDougall began researching the Tarahumara after seeing a picture of one of their members in a magazine photo. The picture showed a man running down a steep slope in his traditional Tarahumara garb and the traditional sandals that their people wear for running. He was fascinated by the photo and started to following the trail; He began exploring the history of the Tarahumara, their few appearances with modern competitive running and a mysterious character called the Caballo Blanco, who becomes a central figure in the story.

Caballo Blanco, who McDougall hoped to meet in order to talk about the ways of the Tarahumara, was at the time of their meeting in the very early stages of hoping to stage a race between some of the best ultra-runners in the modern competitive arena and some the best Tarahumara runners. The timing may have been a coincidence, but it allowed McDougall to chronicle this race that pitted Tarahumara runners on their home turf against Scott Jurek and other top runners. Born to Run faithfully tells us the story leading up to the race and then gives us the play-by-play of the race itself (in which McDougall was also a participant).

To continue reading, click here.

San Antonio, TX — 29-year-old Gilbert Koech led a five-man Kenyan sweep of the second annual Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon today, notching his first marathon victory since the 2005 Las Vegas Marathon. In testing, humid conditions, Koech broke from the five-man lead pack shortly after the 19-mile mark, and was headed on his way to victory in a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes and 39 seconds.

The race began under overcast skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, but humidity hovered at over 90 percent. Notwithstanding, American half-marathon winner Westly Keating and runner-up Shadrack Songok, both from Texas and running in their debut half-marathons, led the accompanying six marathon runners through a fast first 10 miles and reached the 10-mile mark in an aggressive time of 49:25, sub-2:10 marathon pace.

“I wasn’t concerned by the early pace because I felt comfortable,” said Koech, whose $17,500 first place prize equates to 1.26 million Kenyan schillings. “I’m looking forward to coming back next year to defend my title at this race.”

After reaching the 10.7-mile-mark where the half-marathon and marathon courses split off from one another, the six marathon runners increasingly slowed their pace reaching the half-marathon point in 1:05:39. The pack stayed together until just after the 19 miles when Koech made his move running a 4:56 20th mile to gain an initial six second advantage over eventual third place finisher James Boit, which surprised his better credentialed compatriots.

He remained on course record pace through 25 miles, but he began to suffer the effects of the fast early miles and rising temperatures. It was a difficult second half as Koech ran a split of 69:00 with a 5:45 final mile, falling just three seconds shy of the course record. None of his challengers had the firepower to close the gap that Koech had built.

To continue reading, click here.

San Antonio, TX –– More than 31,000 entrants from all 50 states and 23 countries will descend on south Texas to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon on Sunday, November 15. The second annual race features elite men’s and women’s fields vying for a prize purse that will award $17,500 to the champions. Interspersed with the international elite field at the start line will be some of the fastest runners in Texas, who will be competing in a statewide battle for a “Texas-only” prize purse in both the full and half-marathon.

Leading the women’s field is returning ‘Texas Showdown’ Champion for the half-marathon Melisa Christian of Dallas. Christian owns a personal best of 2:42:07 from in her ninth place finish at the 2007 ING New York City Marathon, which qualified her for the 2008 U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston. She recently won the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon on November 1st with a time of 1:18:11.

“I really liked the (San Antonio) course,” said Christian, who will compete in the half-marathon. “It was well laid out, and with all the participants, it was impressive how well the event was organized. My training has been going great and you never know what can happen on race day. I’m hoping we have perfect weather like last year.”

The elite women’s field features veteran runners who have performed well at past Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathons. Russia’s Tatiana Pushkareva, 24, finished fourth in San Antonio last year with a PR of 2:34:55 and won the 2009 Country Music Marathon in Nashville. Countrywoman Svetlana Ponomorenko, 40, won the 2008 Country Music Marathon. She returns to Texas as a master’s runner after winning Dallas Marathon in 2006 with a PR (personal record) of 2:29:55.

Expected to join them in the lead pack is 2008 Olympian Dorota Gruca of Poland. Gruca, who trains in New Mexico, finished 30th in Beijing Olympic Marathon with a time of 2:33:32. She owns a marathon PR of 2:27:46 when she finished 13th at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Kenya’s Evelyne Lagat has a personal marathon best of 2:42:14 from a 7th place at the 2009 Houston Marathon. The sister of U.S. distance great Bernard Lagat, she finished 6th at the ING Philadelphia Distance Run September 20th in 1:12:25.

To continue reading, click here.

Season 2 continues in our weekly video series as Coach Joe English and Dean Hebert sit down for another chat about marathon running. Continuing on from last week’s discussion of addictive substances, we move on to think about whether running itself can be an addiction.

In this episode:
— Can running be addictive?
— When is too much running, too much?
— What is a streak runner?
— Is Coach Joe thinking of going streaking?

To watch the video, just click the play button in the video window below.

Season 2 will bring you 30 more episodes so stay tuned every Thursday on Vimeo, Facebook and on www.running-advice.com.

To visit our video page with links to all of the episodes in the series, click here.

NEW YORK – Proudly pointing to the bold “USA” written across his singlet and giving thumbs up to the Central Park crowd, Meb Keflezighi on Sunday became the first American man since 1982 to cross the finish line first at the ING New York City Marathon. He was joined by five additional American men in the top 10 in a banner day for US. men’s distance running.

Meb Keflezighi wins Rock N Roll San Jose 2009

The 2004 Olympic silver medalist ran a brilliant strategic race, pulling away from four-time Boston Marathon Champion Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya in the final two miles to win in a personal-best time of 2:09:15. After finishing, he dropped down for a push-up and broke into tears before being greeted by his mother, wife and two daughters. “The memory of Ryan Shay is what I cried for,” Meb said, referring to his American teammate who died in Central Park while running the Olympic Trials two years ago, the last time Meb ran in New York.

[Photo: Meb Keflezighi shown winning a recent race, the Rock N Roll San Jose Half-marathon in 2009]

The win gave Keflezighi the USA marathon championship and his fourth national title of 2009, and he became the first American man to win in New York since Alberto Salazar’s 1982 victory in 2:09:29. He earned a total prize-money payday of $170,000, including $130,000 for the overall win and an additional $40,000 for the U.S. title. He also finished atop the USA Running Series rankings for 2009, earning an additional $6,000.

In one of the strongest men’s fields ever in New York, Cheruiyot placed second, 41 seconds back in 2:09:56, with Olympic silver medalist and two-time world champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco third in 2:10:25. In total, Sunday’s field included 14 men with personal bests under 2:10, including two-time New York champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos and 2004 champion Hendrick Ramaala.

To continue reading, click here.

The 2009 ING New York Marathon, the world’s biggest marathon, was full of surprises and drama as it took to the streets of New York today. American distance running was the clear winner today as the US Marathon Championships showcased the best that American distance running has to offer — and it doesn’t get much better than it was today.

Runners cross the Verrazano Narrows Bridge

American Meb Keflezighi won the race in a new personal best 2:09:15, pulling away from the elite international field in the 23rd mile to win the race by 41 seconds. He becomes the first American runner to win the New York City Marathon since 1982. Ryan Hall finished fourth. Including Keflezighi and Hall, a total of 6 Americans finished in the top 10 for the first time 1979. Keflezighi was the winner of the Silver Medal in the Marathon at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.

In the women’s race, world record holder Paula Radcliffe felt a twinge in her knee at mile 11 and hung on with the field, but couldn’t keep up with the surging pace at mile 22. Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia went on to win the women’s race in 2:28:52. Radcliffe finished fourth.

Keflezighi pulled away from four-time Boston Marathon winner Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya in the 23rd mile and built a 41 seconds gap over the last 3 miles of the race.

A record 44,000 runners started the race today, which was run under cool conditions and light rain and winds early in the day. The rain let up near the start of the race and temperatures were in the mid-50s with cloudy skies throughout the day.

We’ll have more coverage coming soon as we compile our notes from the day.

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Get ready marathon runners, this weekend is the biggest marathon in the world. If you’re participating, good luck! If you’re not, then plan to watch it on the Internet or television this weekend. The race promises to be an exciting one with Ryan Hall vying for the overall title and Paula Radcliffe trying to make it three in a row.

Here are some links to coverage on our web-site that you may want to visit to get ready for the big weekend:

2009 Television and Broadcast Coverage for New York City Marathon

Will Radcliffe make it three in a row in New York?

Olympians headline list of Americans in New York City Marathon

Joan Benoit-Samuelson returns to New York City Marathon

Ryan Hall to race in New York City Marathon

Photos from last year’s New York City Marathon:

Selected Photos from 2008 New York City Marathon Race Course

Selected Photos from 2008 New York City Marathon Starting Line

Selected photos from New York City Marathon Starting Village

Enjoy the race and look for coverage here on Monday!

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